help please

I need ideas, I'm tried of arguing with my husband about our sons potty training. Our son is 4 years and two months. He has had no interest in potty training at all we finally made an approvement with interest in flushing the toilet but that's it. I need ideas. We have read books, videos, rewards, candy, stickers, star chart, everything and nothing! Please help save my sanity.

Comments (5)

We are having problems with our son too but he has started to improve over the last few weeks. I spoke with a counsellor and its like things changed over night from a boy who didnt care if he peed or pooed in his pants and wouldnt give us any warning beforehand. We also tried everything you mentioned but I found out that I had been embarrassed as a child in regards to pee accidents and this was subconsciously going over to my son and I was trying to control the situation so much that he wouldnt have the same experience that I used have him in nappies all the time. My counselor said just to leave go and see what happens, we dont give him stickers or anything just put him into boxer shorts and only have pj pants for nighttime. We combine with asking him to use the potty and leaving him tell us when he needs to go. And it was like overnight the change in him. After exhausting all avenues and with a 5 month old to mind aswell it was a real strain. He is not perfectly potty trained by any means and still has accidents but its a long way from where he was two weeks ago and I dont really care what people think anymore like I used to. Also in the carseat we have one of those bed protector sheets to go underneath him and we went for our first long car trip the other day and he waited until his rest stop to use the potty which we praised him alot for. Good luck:)

Have you checked with his doctor to make sure it's not a physical issue more than a behavioral one? A close friend was having trouble with her 4 year old (almost 5) and finally they discovered he was severely constipated and had come to associate the potty with pain. Also, my grandmother had lots of trouble being potty trained, she kept having pee accidents. As an adult she had abdominal surgery and they discovered she had three kidneys!!! No wonder she couldn't hold her pee very long, she was making a ton more of it than a normal person. I'm sure that's very rare, but the moral of the story is make sure there isn't a medical explanation.

Well my son had an erection this morning he wanted his diaper off and wouldn't keep it on so figured today was a great time to try again. He wore those padded underwear today. He didn't pee at all in them the first four or five hours he took them off and peed on the bed instead. Then before bed he was saying diaper i asked do you want to use the potty do you need to potty he cried and ran and said diaper well he hide from me and peed in his underwear. So put him in a pull up for the night. Tomorrow is another day of trying. Thank you for your help. It puts my mind at ease that he's not the only one this old not trained. All our friends kids were trained by one and one half. And my husband just doesn't want him made fun of for still being in diapers. As for pooing problems he's had a bm every day since he came home from the hospital lol he's regular he gets it from his dad lol. And he pees like a betties wetties doll lol

The fact that he knew he needed to pee so he asked for a diaper is a sign of things heading in the right direction. I've read that if you hit a standstill, take a break for a week, not even mentionig going potty or being a big boy, etc, and then try again.

When I used to work at a preschool, when potty training the boys, we would let me get a hand full of Fruit Loops and throw them (literally) in the toilet. Then they had to aim the stream of pee to inside the cereal. (Cheerios work too, but Fruit Loops are colorful and more fun). The boys would line up to pee, just so they could take aim at something!

We are in the process of potty training our two year old. We started him out on a potty seat that goes on our toilet. He did great for about a week, but them seemed to lose interest, or maybe it was because he needed help getting up on it. We got him a Car's potty, and he thinks it is the coolest thing ever, and wants to pee while "shifting gears" (there is a lever on the side that makes reving noises when pushed). Plus, he can run in and go at any time without waiting for me to help.

We always make the bigget deal about DS going potty: high fives, rewards, our own pee-pee on the potty dance, hugs and kisses, we'll call Daddy at work to tell him, anything that makes DS feel like he just did the coolest thing in the world. The most important is not to get mad or frustrated when there is an accident or when he simply doesn't want to use the potty. Good luck!

My DS didn't really show interest in potty training and would not wear pull ups. I just went to the store one Saturday bought underwear. By Wednesday there were no accidents. After 3 weeks he asked for underwear at night. I waited 2 more weeks before letting him wear underwear to bed. We have no accidents. He occasionally will wake up about hours after going to sleep crying hysterically will pee then go back to bed with no recollection that he was even awake.